Friday, March 11, 2016

Professional Development Opportunities, Awards and Scholarships for Archaeology Students in Pennsylvania and the Greater Middle Atlantic Region: 2016 MAAC, SPA and ESAF annual meetings

Its spring
conference season for archaeology professionals, avocational enthusiasts and
students once again. The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Section of Archaeology
actively partners with the Middle Atlantic
Archaeological Conference (MAAC), the Society for Pennsylvania
Archaeology (SPA), the Pennsylvania
Archaeology Council (PAC) and the Eastern
States Archaeological Federation (ESAF), to protect archaeological
resources, promote and disseminate scientific research and provide educational
programming throughout the year. At annual meetings Museum staff regularly
present papers about ongoing research and curatorial concerns; assist with
and/or host meetings; help to review, administer awards and scholarships; and periodically
serve as organization officers. We encourage all those who are interested in
archaeology to support these organizations through active membership, annual
meeting attendance, monetary donations and student sponsorships.

Student memberships in MACC, SPA and ESAF have
many perks in addition to discounted rates and association journal
subscriptions. These organizations provide opportunities for support and
professional development to budding archaeologists at the start of their careers.
Here are some of the opportunities available to students and recent college graduates
at the 2016 MAAC, SPA/PAC and ESAF 2016 annual meetings, as well as links to
and additional information about conference programming and registration for all
interested in attending these events.

The 46th
annual Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference will be held this weekend:

Thursday, March 10 to
Sunday, March 13

Clarion
Fontainebleu Hotel
10100
Coastal Highway
Ocean
City, MD 21842

Reservations:
1-800-638-2100 or (410)524-3535

Click the provided links
for more information about the 2016
MAAC Conference Program and to visit the Conference
website. The Friday evening Keynote Speaker isCharles Ewen, PhD, Croatoan: Guidepost or misdirection?Walk-in registrants are welcome through this Saturday, March 12th,
4pm.

MAAC student presenter, poster competition

The call for
poster and paper presentations ended January 31st; however, there
are many opportunities to learn about avenues of professional development for
students and recent graduates interested in attending the program this year. Graduate
and undergraduate student geared social and steering committee activities kick
off Friday morning with the Student Committee Coffee hour at 11:00am, the
Friday evening MAAC Student Committee Round Table (5-6pm), and the Student
Mixer Saturday evening (7:30-8:30pm). The highlight of the student focused
programming is a mentoring meet and greet workshop session planned Saturday
afternoon with representatives from cultural resource management firms,
graduate schools and federal agencies.

Track
C Saturday Afternoon, 1:30 – 3:30 pm

Workshop:
Archaeological Speed Dating and Resume Review

Chairs: Carole Nash, James Madison University and Heather Wholey,
West Chester University

Participating students and recent graduates will
get the chance to network in a 20-minute ‘speed dating’ format with
archaeological professionals from private, academic and public sectors as well
as gain useful, one-on -one direction on how to build and present professional
credentials. For this session, participants are encouraged to bring a copy of
their resume for review.

MAAC student presenter 2014

MAAC will soon begin soliciting student papers and poster
presentations for 2017. Competitive scholarships are available for one undergraduate and one graduate paper
every year. Winners receive a $100.00 award, a one-year membership with MAAC,
and the opportunity to publish in the Journal
of Middle Atlantic Archaeology. Whether
or not student presenters choose to participate in the competitive scholarship
program, most participants are able to attain a sponsorship award
for the cost of one year’s student membership and the conference registration
fee. Additionally one undergraduate and one graduate student poster presenter
is awarded a special recognition for excellence during the conference. The 2016 poster presentations will be
adjudicated by Kurt W. Carr, Senior Curator of Archaeology at the State Museum
of Pennsylvania.

There is still
time to join the program as a paper presenter and take advantage of scholarships
available to high school and college student participants. For general
attendance, online and mail-in pre-registration is open through April 13th.

James W Hatch Scholarship- a $100.00 scholarship awarded to high school
or college students by the Pennsylvania Archaeology Council in cooperation with
the SPA to attend the joint PAC/SPA annual meetings. Preference is given to
students planning to present papers. Follow the scholarships link provided
above to find more information.

Joseph R. Blondino, Temple University, 2009 PAC Symposium presenter,

accepting Hatch scholarship from Paul Raber, PAC

W. Fred Kinsey Scholarship- the W. Fred Kinsey
Scholarship was created in 2009 to encourage students to participate at the
annual meetings of the Society by presenting scholarly research in a friendly,
professional atmosphere. Dr. Kinsey was a curator with the former William Penn
Memorial Museum, now The State Museum, before going to Franklin and Marshall
College and The North Museum from the early 60’s thru the mid 1980’s. He made
significant contributions to the archaeological record and mentored many
students who went on to become noteworthy archaeologists on their own
merits. Students currently pursuing an
undergraduate or graduate degree are eligible to apply for the W. Fred Kinsey
Meeting Scholarship. Eligibility is dependent on a complete, single-author paper
with PowerPoint slides (if appropriate) to be presented at the annual meeting
of The Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology. Student presentations must be
accepted by the program chair for the SPA annual meeting to qualify. Papers
should focus on topics relevant to Pennsylvania archaeology. Award of the
Scholarship requires submission of the complete paper by a single author, in an
electronic format (Word or WordPerfect) to the Program Chair by the regular
submission deadline date for papers as set by the Program Chair. The Program
Chair Person this year is Amanda Valko, submission deadline for abstracts is March 31, 2016. Selection of the
winning paper is decided by committee review and will be based on quality of
original research, presentation and appeal to the avocational and professional
archaeology community. The committee consists of at least three members of the
Society, one from staff of the PHMC and one member from the education committee
of the Society.

Jennifer C. Rankin, Temple University, 2012 Kinsey

Scholarship recipient, paper published in the PA Archaeologist (83:1)

Presentation of the award will be announced at the
Annual Meeting of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology on April 15-17, 2016
in West Middlesex, Pennsylvania. The selected paper will be published on-line
through the PHMC website and submitted for review to the editor of the
journal Pennsylvania
Archaeologist for possible publication. The editor of the
journal will make the final decision on publication. Donations are encouraged
to support the W. Fred Kinsey Scholarship fund. In addition to the
monetary award and publication assistance, one year of membership in the
Society is included in the award. Questions regarding this scholarship may be
directed to Janet Johnson, Curator of Archaeology at the State Museum of
Pennsylvania (janjohnson@pa.gov).

Announcing the Friday afternoon PAC Symposium, to be held in
conjunction with the SPA annual meeting:

Lithic Quarries in Pennsylvania: The
Archaeology of Tool Stone Procurement

ABSTRACT

The study of tool stone procurement and
distribution has been a long-standing interest for archaeologists in
Pennsylvania and surrounding regions. Despite this, there have been few
systematic archaeological studies of quarries, outcrops and secondary sources.
This symposium summarizes the available information on quarries and other tool
stone sources and the exploitation of these resources by the prehistoric
inhabitants of Pennsylvania, both hunter-gatherers and horticulturalists.

The Geologic Origins and Distribution of Tool
Stone in Pennsylvania.

Frank
J. Vento

An Overview of the Recorded Tool Stone
Quarries in Pennsylvania

Kurt
W. Carr

Jefferson County Chert

Kenneth
Burkett

The
Exploitation of Quartzite in the Lower Juniata and Susquehanna Valleys:
Outcrops and Cobble Sources

Online registration is
now available for presenters and attendees. Similar to MAAC and SPA annual
meetings, a competitive scholarship is available to student presenters. The best student paper award
is open to all currently enrolled students who submit single author papers for presentation
and review at the ESAF meeting. This year’s application deadline coincides with
the general presenter submission deadline, September
15, 2016. Papers are judged both on
content and oral presentation and the winner is announced at the banquet,
Saturday night. Award recipients receive a certificate of award, a cash prize, and
a one-year membership in ESAF. At the request of the author, the winning paper
may be considered for publication in Archaeology of Eastern North America at
the discretion of the AENA editor. ESAF also encourages state societies like the
SPA and cultural resource firms to sponsor students’ meeting registration fees
and/or membership dues.

Students don’t forget to also seek
further funding sources through educational institutions. Academic departments,
colleges and universities often provide grants and awards to support student research
and participation in professional conferences. These grants can offset the cost
of travel, food, lodging, and registration fees.

Note: If you attended the
2015 State Museum of PA’s Workshop in Archaeology, or caught our exhibit at the
PA Farm Show this January—Weed Seeds to Garden Seeds: the Archaeology
of Farming in the Keystone State—you can revisit similar topics on a
wider regional scale at the MAAC meetings in the Track A Friday morning
session, Foragers in
Middle Atlantic Prehistory. Also, get a sneak
peek into the 2016 PA Workshops in Archaeology, scheduled for Saturday, October
29th. This year’s Workshop theme, prehistoric symbols and belief
systems, will be touched on by Friday afternoon MAAC Track A session presenters—Changing Landscapes: archaeological evidence
of ideological, social and technological transformation amongst farmers in the
Middle Atlantic Region, c. AD 1050 – contact.

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One Tank Trip

WFMZ-TV 69 from Reading, Pennsylvania visited The State Museum of Pennsylvania on February 8th, 2017. Karin Mallett prepared a feature piece on great places to visit that are one tank of gas from Reading and our gallery was the focus of this visit. Karin interviewed Kurt Carr, Senior Curator and Janet Johnson in the gallery and provide a nice overview of the spectacular exhibits. Please click on the link below and enjoy this glimpse of the museum during this One Tank Trip!
One Tank Trip: Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology

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